Polystyrene product



MayZG, 1942. g EY'E-R; 7 2,284,335.

POLYSTYRENE PRODUCT Filed July 24, 19 40 INVENTOR. 72 Zk/CH O. Maw 15 BY MMM( WvyY ATTORNEYS purposes.

temperatures.

Patented May 1942 ro ys'rmmi raonucr Erich 0. Meyer, Teaneck, N. 1., assignor to Consolidated. Edison. Company of New York, Inc., V New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application July 24, mo, Serial No. 347,173

ithe' styrene is still in the liquid or semi-liquid 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improved styrene compositions and more particula'rlyto poly merized polystyrene plastic compositionsand methods of making and using same, in types suitable 'for example as electrical insulating material for cable sheath joints and similar In accordance invention a styrene composition may be prepared which is especially suitable for the above mene tioned electrical purposes, by combining prefer ably a partially polymerized liquid styrene with relatively small amounts of certain accelerators and plasticizers, and gradually polymerizing the styrene by treatment at relatively low heating This treatment carries the styrene through a series of distinct changes and finally converts it into a uniformly hard, tough substantially transparent plastic which hasextremely high breakingnstrength, and tenacity .with an important phase of the 3 when formed in contact with the metallic sheaths of electrical cables. Also the product has highly desirable electrical insulating characteristics,

such as a very low dielectric power factor, and is highly resistant to moisture, oxygen, weak acids and alkalis, and to oils of types used in oil-filled;

cables.

The physical properties of the polymerized styrene composition may be changed substantially by variations in the processing conditions. If the styrene is polymerized-rapidly by using a relatively larger. amount of accelerator, or utilizing relatively higher temperatures, the final" hardened product will be brittle and have numerous voids caused by air bubbles which are sealed in the plastic mass. Such higher temperatures if used to polymerize the mass in the presence of electrical cables may also damage the cable insulation materials. these conditions is to permit the. styrene to polymerize by itself without heating and with.- out the use of accelerators, but this generally requires too long a time to be practical in commercial use. In the preferred procedure according to this invention, the styrene is combined with an amount of accelerator, preferably not exceeding about 0.5%, which is suflicient to re! duce the polymerization time to a commercially feasible period ranging from about 10 days to about or 50 days at temperatures conveniently obtainable on electrical cables, and at the same time not producing any voids or bubbles in the final product, With suchslow polymerization, any air bubbles that are formed have time to Thepther extreme from stage, thereby avoiding trappin of such air bubbles in the final hardened product. The accelerators which maybe used for shortening the polymerization time of the styrene include peroxides, such as for example benzoyl peroxide,

acetyl peroxide hydrogen peroxide, ascarldole,

and ozonitesi and also the use of ultraviolet.

rays. Theultra violet rays apparently produce" an auto-catalyst in the styrene which acceler ates polymerization. The amount of chemical accelerator, such as the oz'onites and peroxides perferably used, may vary from about 0.1% to 0.5%.. While larger amounts than 0.5% may be used with-proportional decrease in polymerization time, they have the disadvantage of tending to cause [the flnaYpmduct-to be brittle, and, therefore, it is preferrednotto use more than about 0.5%. 1..

To eliminate cracking or checking of the plas ticqproduct, due to stresses and strains normally set up inthese plasticsupon cooling and ageing,

and to increase the toughness ofthe product, a

small, amount of a plasticizer' is preferably i'n- The amount used is controlled so that the final prodnot will have the desired strength and hardness characteristics, and .will also be substantially, transparent, that is, the amount of plastlclzei",

corporated in the styrene composition.

used, although snrall, is'suflicient to eliminate the milk white color which often forms in these plastics.

.In connection with earlierstages of the, polymerization first tends to soften the polymerized styrene product, but

entirely contrary to the expected eflect of such a plasticizer I find that after the initial softening action, the dibutylphthalate, if in quite small.

with a hammer It is thus seen that the di; butylphthalate performs the dual function of a plasticizer and subsequently of a hardening agent when used in this relatively very small amount and in accordance with other processing steps rise and escape from the top of the mass while u of the invention.

the plasticizer I have dis'-' covered a quite unexpected effect obtained in'thef polymerization of the styrene by the use of a relativelyv'ery small amount of dibutylphthalate as theplasticizer. Such a plasticizer during the triethyl phosphate.

In most cases the amount clone or more of v the above' plasticizers used in'the composition range between"about0.5% and 2%. "A com-r mercially advantageous range ior' pre'paring the plastic for electrical insulating purposes is belo tween about 0.5% and;1%,."

A typical but non-limiting example of the come position of the invention and the methodgoi manufacture thereof isas tollowsa;

CWW F N I "leastr'u'ost oi'theairbubblesbefore the gel stage progressesivery far, so as to preventtrapping oi Percent Styrene I .99 'Dibutylphthalate 0.5 Ben'zqyl peroxide 0.5

.T rena a' dfrly 'eiiz 'f n j, ,p ffmm the above composition, the "constituents may be mixedfsimultaneouslyand heated over aI-Deri od'of timi eiuntilthe idesired hardness of .tIije' product is obtained; However, it lumen round advantageous and ingi'act important in]: preparing a productwhich wiil have all the above" mentioned, desirable ch insulating purposes, such IJas' for cable sheath joints, to follow the following procedure. f Apco'rdi ing ,to'this preferred p'rocess'the styrene is first prepoly i' astigm ism: olwme d v; heatin the liquid "monostyrene' V, at its f boiling, 5

point, i.' e;," aboutj145 Qioria lengthof time such that this heat treatment causes gthe density of'the liquid mo'nostyrene to change from an original val'ueqoi about 'v'alue preferably I about 0.969, bl}. about 0.960 and 0.980. 40'

Thzflme' mmrifiimliheat reat ni be dete m ed by t ititestsprtne mmcgmty, and'may r quire ior'ejxa'm one hour or a com siderablr'shorter timejf'jdepending. upon the amount of heat applied and the quantity treated.

This change inspeciiic'gravity results in asyrup .like'liquid which. may still beeasily'poured mm,

agmold. A considerable "amount-oi the styrene,

- probamy about 40%,wiil1have converted rent is' cutloq; orleven n th cable' is'seriously overloaded at-time'slso' asitof'have temperatures "Alter this'prepolymerizln' treatment the'soluftionis cooled to room temperature and the accelerator, such as benzoyl peroxide in the form oiifa dryip wvder' v is incorporated in the styrene liquid. The dibutylphthalate plasticizer isiailso 5 ase n the threeconstituent's" aregthoroughly mixed. The accelerator-as added should preferably-bein the fornii or; a dry powder, since its addition in the torm'oiasolution is undesirable" iriview ofthe fact thatii the materialis many 33 tobe cured in a sealed'mold, any solvent could not escape but would interfere withthe harden;

of the plastic. j The usei o'if the plastlcizer as asolvent'ror thejaccelerator was found to beun-j' only" partially soluble" in the amount 01 dibutylphthalateabove specified; r 'lfhetime required for eeting flnal poly er-1 ization. into the hard; tough product dependsinot upon the amountcof; accelerator present ,as

above. but also 1 upon the temperature not: employed for completingthe polymerization; 'Itjis oi deflnite advantage for theipurp sesfof this invention to maintain the temperature at a relatively low value, such as tor example about]? tics for electrical 551 30 C. to about 40 or 0., so as toproduce a,

slow gradual polymerization, resulting in a final productdesirably tree oi brittleness and other mechanical faults andrexceedingly tough and hard. .This temperature of about 30' (1-50? 0.. may be appliedin any desired manner and it will be found that the composition which is originally in liquid form will remain as a liquid WithoutEany easily recognizable changegin-iviscosityiiora period oi aiew days.. Alter-this period the viscosity of theliquid steadily increases:

for several ,days, Duringthe second stage of the polymerization, the viscous liquid composition is converted'progressively into a soft gel. It is desirable ;to1,have .the composition freed of at 'the'aijibubbles m the gel.

.Thelconverted gel beingheavier than the oriainalliquidsettles at the bottom 01 the container,

orjthedeviceinwhich the composition is heated,

leaving] the 'less converted portion of the cornos t onal; asupernatant liquid. Theithird state hard plastic gel. 'I he fourth and final polymer- 39 SW which e u r n t r o several fdays transforms the rubbery "gel intoifa hard and tough plastic mass;

In addition to carryingout the 1301;inierizaubn at a relativelylow'teniperature; such as 30 to 50" C., it*has' :been ;fo ur 1 'd thatthis relatively low temperature treatment can ""be elected in j situ, when the plastic is to be used asianelectrical insulating material; such as 'aior insulation joints betweenfjsections orcable sheaths or for other forms oiconductor Joints, termlnalsand the: use purposes. Many electrical power cables while in q r iaea mal x' Se a vt e a e it in this range; and at maximum temperatures gen ....erally'considerably"less than 0." Accordingly" the cable "operating temperatures may be utilized very effectively *for polymerizing the prepolymerited styrene; by depositing the composition in'a-m'old enclosing the cable sheathjointand heatedby the inherent operating temperature of 'i a The me eat e od ma b used" even though 'attimes' the temperature may fall to about f15l-"C;i ior example when thecurupto 70' (Lior example.

material around the' moldi and I 3 is wmz the flnish tion 01' "the mold." I

l xfjoint, afte removal oi-themain desirablefbecause'the benzoyl peroxide would be 5'5" 1 4 v e um the nweswwlead c e sheath sec ion 3 are indicated at l0 and II; a ,In came-a;

filled with on; end particularly ,ii the, oil is under substantialpressure', the space separating the two sheathsections is first wound and treated" with wrappings of suitable insulating and adhesive material to form 'a joint .asJndicated, at v i 2, I which .will ;be substantially oiltight at least, over a P6 71091 oi time suiilcient:topermit the styrene composition toibe applied and hardened. Afpre- Y ferred manner of forming an oil seal such asa't' I2 is disclosed and claimed in the copending application of Ward F. Davidson and Earl'R.

' Thomas, Ser. No. 347,168, filed on even date herewith (Patent No. 2,256,897), and entitled Insulating joint for electric cable sheaths and method of making same." a

After the oil seal I! has been applied, the region at the ends of the two adjacent cable sheath sections may be enclosed in a mold as at l3 formed of sheet leador else lined with lead or tin. With thesemetals it has been-found that there is substantially no interaction with the prepolymerized styrene composition above specified, whereas if the mold parts orfltting's included any metals such as copper or brass, some segregation of the plasticizer, accelerator, monostyrene insulation material maybe safely removed and the resulting mass will have a mechanical strength as shown by transverse bendingtests' equivalent to the maximum generally obtainable in plastic compositions. Finally a substantial part of the centralportion of the mold, together with-the reservoir It should be cut away so as to leave for example a finished insulating joint .as-shown in Fig.8. As here shown, onlypthe outerends of themold or sleeve ll may be left as at I), and these will form vannulari'bands sealed at their outer edges by thesolder wipes-to the cable sheath, and covering and protecting thin edges of the plastic mass II'.

During the curing process in the mold arrangement asabove-described, the pressure-within thereservoir I! will be very nearly atmospheric.

and polystyrene may take place,'apparently due to the reaction between the catalyst and brass or copper, forming copper or zinc benzoates which retardthe curing.

If the mold parts are made of -lead, the joints in the mold may be sealed by solder or by lead burning and the ends of the molds may be sealed to the cable sheath sections I and II as by "wiped solder joints H. v

During the polymerization of the styrene composition the mass undergoes a substantial shrinkage which may amount for example, to

10% and accordingly to compensate for this 'ing a filling spout l6 permitting final complete filling of the reservoir; During the curing period the filling spout may be sealed as by solder.

In order to avoid pockets of entrapped air in the mold, it should preferably be so shaped that air will be free to rise up through the liquid to the top of the reservoir from all parts of the mold.

To this end the mold has its ends preferably tapered in the manner shown. r

After the mold has been sealed, if th"heat of the cable in normal use is to be relied on to accomplish the polymerization, the region of the joint is preferably wrapped with heat insulating material. This may comprise for example a layer of wool about 1 inch thick, as -at I 8, two layers of asbestos listing as at l9, and an outer layer for example of paraffln cotton tape as at 18, all secured in place as by spaced wire bands as shown. Other suitable insulation materials may also be used,- such as for example a winding of string covered with a layer of aluminum foil followed by layers of cheese cloth, asbestos tape and paraflin cotton tape. The proper amount and character of the insulation may be readily determined by trial and depends upon the polymerizing temperature range desired, the resistance of the cable and the amount of current normally carried thereby in use. 1

With the cable joint as shown wrapped in Fig. 2 on an electric power cable in use with a normal load, and with the preferred polymerized styrene mixture above specifled, a temperature of about 35-38 C. may be readily maintained in the mixture, and the mixture will become both hard and tough within about 14- days- In about Whilethe shrinkage of the composition tends to reduce the pressure in the mold to somewhat below atmospheric pressure, yet this tendency is largely compensated for by reason of the fact that the composition will contain some *dissolved air and during the polymerization this air will be driven off in the form-of bubbles which riseto the surface of the liquid. Tests indicate that variations of the pressure withinrthe mold to points somewhat above or below atmospheric pressure, are neither detrimental nor beneficial.

The resulting hard plastic mass i1 willhave a specific gravity of about 1.05 and will be substan tially free'of bubbles and so firmly bonded to the cable sheath that any force tending to pull apart the cable sectionsv will ordinarily tear the lead sheath about as soon as, or before the plastic joint gives way or parts from the cable sheath. Such firm bonding of the-insulation to the cable sheath is not only important from themechanical standpoint, but also insures that there will be no leakage of oil from the cable even after long periods of time and with high oil pressures of for example 40 lbs.iper square inch. The firm bond to the lead cable sheathisapparently not only due to the inherent tenacity of'the plastic as polymerized insitu on metals such as lead or tin, but also enhanced considerably by the grad-- ual' shrinkage of the mass into closeuembrace liminary oil seal at 12 may be easily inspected at any time if desired and'anyimperfections in the joint or its bond to the cable sheaths will be' apparent. w

When the mold is first removed, the surface of the plastic, except for the top area, may be slightly translucent or milky due possibly to a very slight effect of the lead onthe styrene, while still only partially polymerized, but the clear transparent massmay be easily revealed by rubbing the surface with a smallamount of a suit-. able polystyrene solvent such as toluene. With this form of joint insulation, sudden wide changes of temperature as from -'70 C. up to +60 C. have no apparent effect on the polystyrene mass, and the same may be subjected to temperatures up to about 100 C. at least, without recognizable softening. The' resistance of typical joints made according to the above described methods is very high, for example from 600- to 800megohms.

The use of heat insulation such as shownin Fig. 2 for example for completely surrounding the joint and mold,. not only insures retention of suflicient heat from the heat ofthe current 40 days or thereabouts, for example, the heat carrying cable to give the desired polymerizing the temperature, but also preventsthe outer portion. enclosure. Otherwise durin g the curing. pe-

- 20 hours.

as above specified, a hard plastic couldbe 'obtainedbycuring Under some circumstances? satisfactory. elimination ofgasbubbles in thefinished product may be. accomplished even though a long curing time is not used. by the step of subjecting the mass to I a pressure substantially .belowyatmospheric, at

of the mold be included within the heat insulariod the heavier polymers would settle on; the" bottom ofth'emold and the monostyrene would. accumulateat thetop in. the reservoir and the presence of the liquid .monostyrene in the-,cold

reservoir would have, a. cooling and. dissolving effect on the .partially: polymerized .-plasticmass at the topof the mold; v f V The: use otstyrene which has -:been prepoly merized.before'it;is pouredinto the molds,

anumber of advantages. Itis an important, factor in-shortening the actual time required to ob.-

tain momma-1y p lymerized cast on the; cable sheath.; That is, a substantialpart. of the polymerizing action may be quickly accomplished at the Lboiling.-temperature,. before bringing the styrene into the. presence of the cable. Further more,it appear-agithat styrene or polystyrenebenzoylperoxidiinixtures havev a criticalteme perature at which the polymerization action becomes so exothermic and vigorousthat the solu-..

, tion boilsand foams. is caused by a Pronounceddevelopment of 8 in the liquid. The possibility of the occurrenceofsuch foaming luv the, molds maybe avoided by using theiprepoly-v merized mixture above specifled with the mold least duringjthe earlier stagesjof the curing pe-.

riod. For example, a clear. plastic was obtained.

when the composition embodying 1% benzoyl peroxide. wassubjectedto a partial vacuum for a period;of,5 hours ata temperature of 80 0.:

followedl by further treatment at atmospheric pressure yatithe, sametemperature for .45. However, ;loss of. styrene. due to, evaporation was; relatively large and appeared to increase linearly withth'eamount of catalyst in the "mixture. F111 temperatures above specified- It, has.- also. been:

observed thatmonostyrenehas. a detrimental effect on various? organiematerialssuch as. used,

inmaking'the oil seal atthe joint asat; l2. However, ,byusing: the prepolymerized styrene, ma -1 terialsmay be more readily selected for. the oil: seal, andfor the-mold, to whichthe polymer is substantially inactive. Also byprepolyme'rizing the. styrene, especially when; following: this by a.

long; period of slowcuring at relatively low tem.- peratures, .a. productv substantially free from bubbles is assured. That is. gases .evolvedduring the prepolymerization; at. boiling: temperatures.

have an. opportunityto escape; before the liquid is poured in, the molds and. gases formed during the. curing of the. material in the. molds, have opportunity to rise to the top of the mold while.

theslowly. cured mass is. still. liquid.

Theptabove. described prepolymerized styrene mixture with. the; accelerator.- and plasticizer should. preferably be. maintained at a tempera;- ture of no-more than 290. during its: storage and.

the same treatment is applied to the same com-4 position. except. for larger amounts of. the benaoyl; peroxide, the resulting product .is found :tobe; swollen. and i includes many gas bubbles.

The complete polymerization of a plastic materia'l inca; closed container which prevents the.

7 material fromcoming. into contact with air. and moisture' appears very important for obtaining.

a. clear and transparent product. For example,

if during. certainstages of thepoiymerization, the mixturecomes-in contactwithwater. a precipitate isformed. which is white, gummy, and has theappearance of. silk. The water appears: to actasan accelerator forming polymers of.

short: chain lengths. And in cases where the] plasticis incompletely polymerized, itis observed. that samples which were perfectly clear and transparent at the end. of the curing process, become millryt, -.their surfaces upon exposure to Materialszwhich may be used for forming uses-in other formsofqoints, etc., may include.

for example silk tape-so-calledG. E. Glyptal. tape and G. E..Glyptal cementNo. 1276,.which materials aren'otsoluble. in the prepolymerized. styrene, although partially soluble in mono-: styrene. 1,

In some cases it may be found possible to use molds made of steel, inasmuch as samples of. steel: were found not to, be corroded when placed. in i the composition made with the prepolymerized styrene. ,Howevenit is notedthat steel is corroded. by the composition made. with. benzoyl peroxide. if the styrene is notprepolymerized.

transportation and: it is.;recommended that the 7 mixture shall not bestoredfor more than. 7 days. prior to its use. or stored at: temperatures less; than 2. during this'period. Such. mixture'should; preferably be kept in atincoatede container or other suitable. receptacle which: will. not interact. with or otherwise. alterthegproperties of the material. Filling. of the, molds: should. preferably The polystyrene appearsto hinder the free. ac-; tion of. the peroxide on metal.

If. any. great. amount of oil such as used. in. cables becomes. mixed. with the styrene composition. during. or prior to its polymerizatiom'such oil'will .act as a. plasticizer and considerably re--.

not be. done: in; the presenceof high. humidity or low temperatures. The moldsshouid bee capable of excluding. moisture.- during the curing action. 7 For, uses where a somewhat: brittle, product'- 0 may not be. objectionable, larger amounts of the 1 S2 1 t ,aIJdhighertemperatures during the curing 'b'eiusedso. as: tocgreatly re' 'duce thertime ofitreatment.:. For example, it. is

found thatby using 3% berizoyl peroxide in a.

composition containing styrene prepolymeriz tard, the; polymerization, although even amounts of? suchoila (sd-called G. E. oil No. 5314) up to 15% still-allow the mixture to.become hard. afterra number of months. i a

casesf whereall. of the. 'factorszof toughnesstand transparency are not important,

various: plasticizers other than those above. speci-;

fled may be" used such as about2' to5%! 0t camphor, ethylacetanilide or .butyl-cellosolve,

with all of. .which clear,..transparent. plastics may 1 be obtained although .not. generally so. hard and strong; as withlthe above specified preferred. com:- position. with. the higher amounts, suchas 5% butyl'cellosolve, the plastic was. cloudy. v Vinylite.

resin and so-called Vistanex 3000, as plasticizers in the-jcompositior'i, gave products which were at 55": C. for; a period of about.

. in; a preliminary oil seal such as at 12, or for similar.

tions first as a plasticizer and then to'harden relatively,-softer than with the preferred composition-and tending to be milky and having some gas bubbles. of butylstearate as a plasticizer in the composition produced aclear,

transparent plastic, but which was quite soft. With 2% of octylacetate as a plasticizer, the product was transparent and quite soft, but had some gas bubbles. With 2% resin the productwas transparent and clear, but quite soft. With 2% Vinyloid H the product was milky,.having some gas bubbles and soft. With from 2 to 5% of heavy solvent oil as the plasticizer. a fairly hard and strong, transparent, clear plastic was obtained. With from 2 to 5% of so-called R8 or RH cumar resins, and with so-called cumar the composition.

3..A composition of matter for forming a polymerized plastic suitable for use as an electrical insulating material, comprising an intimate mixture of styrene, about 0.1% to 0.5% oi a peroxide polymerization accelerator and about 0.5% to 2% of dibutylphathalate plasticizer which functions first as a plasticizer and then to harden the com- P10 and P25, fairly hard, strong, transparent clear products were obtainable with a curing temperature of 40 C. for 26 days.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to particular preferred examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding the invention that various changes and modifications may be made without departing'from the spirit and scope of the invention, and it is intended therefore in the appended claims to cover all such changes and.

modifications;

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is: e v

1. A composition of matter for forming a polymerized plastic suitable for use as an electrical insulating material, comprising an intimate mixture of styrene, not more than about 0.5% of hard toushproduct is obtained.

benzoyl peroxide polymerization accelerator and not more than about 2% of dibutylphthalate which functions first as a plasticizer and then to harden the composition.

2. A composition of matter for forming a polymerised plastic suitable for use as an electrical insulating material, comprising an intimate mix-- ture of styrene, a small percentage of a peroxide polymerization accelerator and not more than about 2% of an organic plasticizer whichfunc about'0.5% of a peroxide accelerator and not more than about 2% of plasticizer that subse- 'quently hardens the polystyrene during polymerization.

6. A method of preparing a polymerized polystyrene composition suitable for use as an electrical insulator, comprising intimately mixing with styrene not more than about 0.5% of a peroxide polymerization accelerator and' not more than about 2% of a plasticizer that subsequently hardens the styrene. and heating the composition to temperatures between about 15 C.-'l0 C. for at least many day to eifect a gradual polymerization of the styrene and until-a '7. A method of producing a thermoplastic polystyrene material comprising partially polymerizing styreneby heating. incorporating about 2% or less of dibutylphthalate and heating slowly at temperatures between about 15 C. and C. over a period of days to further pobmerize the styrene into a hard toughmaterial, aid slow heating permitting any airbubbles to rise out of a the heated material .before solidification. 

